The Art of Voice Acting: the art and business of performing for voice over (44 page)
Read The Art of Voice Acting: the art and business of performing for voice over Online
Authors: James Alburger
One of the things you should determine when designing your business and marketing plan is how you will distribute your demo. Within the space of a few short years, demo distribution has moved from reel-to-reel tape to audio cassette to audio CD to electronic data files. In today’s voiceover world, your primary distribution will be via an MP3 audio file on your website, sent as an attachment in an email, accessible through an online audition site, or sent from your agent.
When the CD was king, it was often necessary to spend a lot of money for a duplication run of anywhere from 100 to 1,000 or more CDs plus the print material that went with them. In just the past few years, that has all
changed! Although the trend today is electronic files as the primary means for demo distribution, the audio CD continues to be found on agent and talent buyer shelves.
It probably isn’t a bad idea to have at least a few audio CDs available for those prospects or agents who might request them. Although you can certainly take the high-end route described in the previous section, burning your own CDs directly on your computer is a common and cost-effective method for creating a small supply to keep on hand. Assuming your demo was produced professionally, there is no difference in quality between burning your own CDs or using a duplication service. The advantage of using a CD duplication service is that the final CD will have a more professional look with the label printed directly on the CD. For CD duplication services, perform an Internet search for “CD duplication” in your city. By the way, the term
burning a CD
comes from the fact that during the recording process, the CD laser literally burns tiny pits in the CD media.
CDs can generally be duplicated in any quantity you need and on relatively short notice. Burning a single CD duplicate on your computer is called a
one-off,
and is a perfect copy of the original digital information. Multiple one-offs are made during the process of CD duplication. CD replication is an entirely different process for producing hundreds or thousands of perfect copies. You don’t need to worry about CD replication until you are doing mass marketing of your demo CD on a national level.
Because electronic files are so popular as a delivery media for voiceover demos, I wouldn’t suggest burning any more than about 25 copies of your demo to start with. These would be reserved for distribution to people you contact who specifically request an audio CD of your demo. When you get an agent, he or she will let you know how many copies the agency needs to keep on hand—if any.
If you’ve never burned a CD on your computer, it would be to your benefit to learn how to use software designed for that purpose. You’ll find a variety of software manufacturers at your local computer store or with an Internet search for “CD burning software.” Most software for creating CDs will also burn DVDs. For your voiceover demo, you’ll want to use commonly available media for audio CD or CD-ROM. DVD media won’t play in an audio CD player.
More important than the CD is the MP3 electronic file. The MP3 file originated as the audio portion of a more complex digital video format. The Motion Picture Engineering Group (MPEG) is the organization responsible for developing the standards for digital recording. The original Mpeg 1 video format had several component parts, one of which was known as “audio layer 3.” As digital audio recording became popular, this part of the video format was modified to be a standalone format for digital audio. Thus was born MPEG Layer 3 digital audio, or MP3 for short.
An MP3 file is actually a compressed (or compacted) form of a larger .wav (WAVeform audio format) or .aiff (audio information file
format) sound recording. Imagine an inflated balloon. The rubber balloon represents the primary digital information and all the air inside represents the duplicated data present in the file. An MP3 file can be seen as a deflated balloon. The primary data is the same, but all the duplicated data has been removed, thus reducing (or compressing) the size of the file. An MP3 file created at the CD sample rate of 44.1 kHz will be roughly 1/10th the size of the original uncompressed raw audio file.
Most audio recording software can easily create MP3 files, and knowing how to do this is essential if you are going to submit auditions or your demo as electronic files.
Believe it or not, there was once a time when the Internet did not exist, and no one knew what a website was. Hard to believe, but it’s true!
For voiceover talent today, a website is an absolute necessity. It’s often the first stop a prospect makes to learn who you are and what you can do. A website is your 24/7/365 brochure, available to be visited by anyone, any time, anywhere in the world. If you don’t already have a website, I’d suggest you seriously consider learning about the Internet and getting online! A website is an invaluable tool in marketing your voiceover talent.
The mere thought of building your own website can be daunting. But, it’s really not all that difficult if you have some basic computer skills. Many website hosting companies offer website templates as part of their hosting service. With these, you design your website online. It can take some time to add all the bells and whistles, but you can often have a simple site ready to go in just a few short hours. There are also several software programs that will allow you to design your own site on your computer. These will offer more options and capabilities than the online templates, and allow you to keep a backup of your site on your computer. Their ease-of-use, which is generally reflected by price, ranges from pretty simple, to very complex.
No matter what approach you take for designing and building your website, remember that the purpose of the site is to market you as a voice actor. Flashy animation, glitzy graphics, and clever font styles may look nice, but they will not serve the purpose of branding your voiceover business.
There are many important considerations for putting your website online. Here are just a few:
- URL
(Universal Resource Locator), also known as the
domain name
: This is the name of your website. You want yours to be simple, short, and descriptive. Your domain name must be
registered before you can set up an account with a website hosting company. Most hosting companies can help you with registering your URL. Check for availability and register or host through
www.magicinet.com
or one of many other registrars. - Site design:
Your website should be designed to reflect who you are and what you do. Carry your branding through to your website to keep your visual image consistent. - Email:
Using an email address such as “[email protected]” only makes good marketing sense. Most websites allow for email to be viewed through the website’s webmail account, or for email to be forwarded to another address. Avoid common .aol, .hotmail, .msn, .yahoo, and similar email addresses that shout “amateur.” - Tell your story:
Your website is the perfect place to let prospects know who you are, who you’ve worked for, and what you can do for them. A one-page site, if well-designed, will present you as a professional. A very good example of a single-page site is
www.pennyabshire.com
. You’ll notice that everything you need to know about Penny as a professional voice talent is easily accessible on that one page. - Post your demos:
Your demos are your primary marketing tool, and you should absolutely post them on your website. MP3 is the recommended format as it is a fairly small file size and will download quickly.
Another way to post your demos is to convert them to streaming audio files. This is a more complex process that is often best handled by your website designer. Real-media and Flash are just two popular methods for streaming audio files from a website. The major difference between MP3 and streaming audio is that MP3 files must first be downloaded before playing, which can take some time, while streaming audio will play almost instantly. The downside of streaming audio is that the files cannot be downloaded for future reference. If you are planning to use Flash audio to stream your demo, you might also consider including separate, downloadable MP3 files as well.
Building your own website can be an educational and fun experience— if you have the time and inclination. If you’d rather put your time and energy into developing your performing skills and voiceover business, you might want to consider hiring a web designer to build your site. There are a handful of web designers who specialize in creating sites for voiceover talent. Before hiring any web designer, take a look at their work and ask for referrals. If you expect that you might need to update your site on a regular basis, you may want to consider building your own.
How to Work in the Business of Voiceover
Getting voiceover work is a numbers game: The more you hustle, the more contacts you will make. The more contacts you have, the more you will work. The more work you do, the better known you will become. The better known you become, the more people who want to hire you, and you get more work. It’s not quite that simple, but you get the idea—it truly is a numbers game. This chapter will help get you started on the right track.
If you’re just getting started in voiceover, you’ll be doing all the work; making the calls, sending the auditions, recording the sessions, handling the billing, and doing the follow-ups. When you are just getting started, this can seem overwhelming, but if you are organized and know what you’re doing you can reach whatever level of success you desire.
But be prepared… it will take some time. Voiceover is not an “overnight success” kind of business. Achieving any degree of success will take an organized, concerted effort on your part, supported with knowledge of your market and competitive performing skills.
Before embarking on an all-out promotion campaign for yourself, do your homework and get organized. If you have an agent, they may be able to recommend specific businesses for you to contact, or they may ask that you let the agency handle all your promotion—or they may be of no help at all. If you agree to let the agent do all the work, set a time limit for your representation contract. During that time, you can see how many auditions you are called for and get a sense of how well you and your agent work together. Working with your agent is the best way to have an organized and consistent promotion campaign.
If you do not have an agent, and are not planning to get one in the immediate future, you are on your own. If you expect to get any auditions or any work, you must devise your own promotion and marketing campaign
and do all the legwork. You’ll need to find the names and contact information for your prospects, make the calls, send out the letters, compose the emails, work the social networking sites, and design your marketing campaign. This can be a time-consuming process, but you can make it go a bit easier if you take it in stages. As you create your promotion campaign, keep your long-term objectives in mind and continue honing your performing and engineering skills.
There are many good books on marketing and advertising from which you can gain a tremendous amount of information. You can also learn a great deal by taking an adult education or college extension advertising and marketing course. The Small Business Administration (
www.sba.gov
) offers a variety of classes, services, and business tools that you may find helpful in organizing and running your business. Through these and other resources, you will not only learn some excellent ways to promote yourself, but you will also learn what goes into creating the marketing and promotional copy that you work with as a voiceover performer.
When you promote and market yourself, you are acting as your own agent and ad agency. These roles are simply additional aspects of your business and you must become familiar with them if you are to be successful.
A common question is “Do I need an agent to do voiceover work?” The short answer is “No, you don’t need an agent” but this isn’t really the right question to be asking. A better question is “Will a talent agent help me in my voiceover career.” For most voiceover talent, the answer is “Yes.” If you work without an agent, you are limiting yourself to only those voiceover jobs you can find for yourself, and you will be responsible for negotiating your fees and collecting payments. One major advantage of having an agent to represent you is that you will gain access to auditions and clients that you might never have met if you were not represented. Your agent will also handle fee negotiations and collect payments. Having a talent agent working for you is definitely to your advantage; however, this does not mean that you
must
have an agent to be successful.
There is a belief among beginning voice actors that landing an agent means they can just sit back and watch the work roll in. Sorry, but it doesn’t work that way! The truth is that your agent is only one part of your larger marketing plan. According to Gabrielle Nistico of
www.vocareer.com
, although an agent will create and distribute marketing materials designed to reach industry professionals, those materials are generally intended to promote the agency, and not an individual talent. It is the voice actor’s individual marketing efforts that ultimately promote their unique skills and abilities to the voiceover marketplace.
It is important for you to network constantly and let your talents be known. Networking with other voiceover performers keeps you up on current trends, and, if you are nonunion, you may get a better idea of the fees other performers are earning. Joining or networking with professional associations like Media Communications Association — International (
www.mca-i.org
) will help to keep you connected with local producers, production companies, and others who may ultimately utilize your services. Always keep a few demos and business cards with you and be ready to pitch yourself when the opportunity arises. It’s a subtlety, but maintaining an attitude of professionalism communicates credibility and integrity.
You will probably get your first few voiceover jobs through friends, networking, or some other contact you make yourself. As you begin working, your skills will improve, producers will begin to know about you, and your talents will become more valuable. When you reach the point where you are confident with your abilities, have developed a repeat client base, and are ready for more work, it’s time to find an agent. Remember, most working pros have an agent. To present yourself with a professional image, you should too. So, how do you go about finding yourself an agent?
The first thing to understand is that an agent works for you! Some beginners in this business think it’s the other way around. Most agents are very selective about who they represent, and may even give the false impression that the performer is working for them. Not true! It is their job to get you work by sending you out on auditions and connecting you with producers who will hire you. Once on the audition, it becomes your job to perform to the best of your ability. Your agent may help to market you by making your demo available to casting directors, advertising agencies, and production companies. Once a job is booked, the agent negotiates your fee.
As you begin your search, you will find that no two agents are alike. Some handle the paperwork for the union, while others want the client or performer to handle this task. Talent agents in a large market, like Los Angeles, run their businesses completely different from a talent agent in a smaller market in the Midwest. And working long-distance with an Internet agent is different from working with an agent in your home town. As with much of the voiceover business, there are no hard-and-fast rules. The most important thing is that you are comfortable with your agent, and that your agent is comfortable with you.
There are a few things you need to know about talent agents before you start seeking representation:
- A talent agent is not in the business of nurturing you or grooming you to be a professional voice actor. They expect you to have your performing skills in place and ready to go.
- A talent agent may not be interested in you unless you have a track record and an existing client list. Agents are in business to get you booked as often as possible, and at the highest fee possible. They only get paid when you work.
- You may have a great track record, and an incredible demo, but you may be rejected simply because the agency already has other voice talent with the same or similar delivery style as yours. Being rejected for representation is not a personal attack on you or your abilities.
One way to find an agent in your area is to contact your local AFTRA office. Even if you are not a member, they will be able to provide you with a list of all franchised agents in your area. Many agents work exclusively with union talent, although some work with both union and nonunion talent.
Be prepared for rejection. Most agents and producers in Los Angeles will not even open or listen to an unsolicited demo, although this policy is different in other cities. You will have much better success finding an agent and finding work if you spend some time on the phone first. It may take a little research on your part, but the time you spend talking with agents and producers on the phone will pay off later on. Don’t expect to get results on the first call. Marketing your talent is an ongoing process and results often come weeks or even years later. You should also know that in major markets like Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago, many talent agents will not even be willing to speak with you unless you are referred by one of the talent they currently represent.
You can start your search for an agent with a simple Internet search for “Talent Agent Your City.” Talent agents for major markets in the U.S. are also posted at
www.voicebank.net
. Another way to find an agent is to go to a theatrical bookstore. Samuel French, Inc. is among the best. See their website,
www.samuelfrench.com
for store locations in Los Angeles, New York, and Toronto. A keyword search on the site for “agencies” will bring up several resources.
Yet another incredibly valuable resource for locating talent agents in Los Angeles and New York is
The Voiceover Resource Guide
. This is a small booklet—and a website—that includes agents, demo producers, recording studios, union rates, and lots of other information for voiceover talent. It’s available at most of the studios in L.A. and New York, and online at
www.voiceoverresourceguide.com
.
While on your search for an agent, you can also call recording studios, TV stations, and production companies in your area. Ask for the production manager. Let this person know you are available for voiceover work, and ask if they book freelance talent or prefer working with an agent. Ask for the names of the talent agencies he or she works with. Let them know your
union status. If the company is a union shop (an AFTRA or SAG
signatory
) and you are nonunion, they will not be able to hire you, but may be able to give you some good leads. Don’t forget to let companies you contact know that you have a demo you can send to them. Follow up all phone contacts with a thank-you letter.
Many talent agents specialize in certain types of performers, such as modeling, on-camera, voiceover, music recording, theatrical, and so on. You can call the agent’s office to find out if they represent voiceover talent and if they are accepting new performers. Keep this initial call brief and to the point, but be sure to get the name of someone to send your demo to if the agency expresses any interest.
Proper phone etiquette is important when calling an agent. Agents are busy people and will appreciate your call more if you are prepared and know what you want. Here’s an example of an ineffective call to an agent:
| AGENT: | Hello, Marvelous Talent Agency. |
| ACTOR: | Hi, uh, is there somebody there I could talk to about doing voiceover? |
| AGENT: | Who’s calling? |
| ACTOR: | Oh, yeah. My name is David Dumdum, and I’d like to talk to someone about doing voiceovers. |
| AGENT: | This is a talent agency. We don’t do voiceovers, we represent talent. |
| ACTOR: | That’s what I mean, I want to talk to somebody about representing me. |
This kind of call not only takes a long time to get anywhere, but the so-called actor is not at all clear about what he wants to discuss. Even if this performer had a decent demo, the chances of getting representation are poor simply because of a nonbusinesslike and very unprofessional presentation. Here’s a much better way to approach a call:
| AGENT: | Hello, Marvelous Talent Agency. |
| ACTOR: | Hi, this is Steven Swell. I’d like to know if your agency represents voiceover talent. |
| AGENT: | Yes we do. |
| ACTOR: | Great! I’d like to speak to someone about the possibility of representation. Are you taking on any new performers? |
| AGENT: | We are always interested in looking at new voice talent. If you’d like to send us a copy of your demo, we’ll give it a listen and let you know. |
| ACTOR: | That’s terrific. I’ll get a copy to you in today’s mail. Who should I send it to? |
This performer gets to the point of his call quickly and effectively. He is polite, businesslike, and keeps an upbeat, professional attitude throughout the call. Even though he didn’t connect with an agent, he did get a name and there is now a clear process for getting his demo into the agency.
Narrow down the prospective agents in your area. You can immediately eliminate those who represent only models, print, or on-camera talent. The Los Angeles area has more than 250 franchised agents, and only a handful represent voiceover talent, so in a larger market, you must be very specific in targeting potential agents before sending out your demo and résumé. Smaller markets can have zero to several talent agents, depending on the market size. Representation by a small talent agency in a small market can be an excellent way to break into the business of voiceover. There are also a growing number of talent agents who represent voice talent nationwide, or even worldwide, through the Internet.
Before contacting any agent, prepare a brief and to-the-point cover letter to accompany your demo. This is not a résumé. This is a business letter intended to introduce you to the agency and should be no more than a few short paragraphs. Simply state that you are a voiceover talent and that you are interested in discussing the possibilities of representation by the agency. Depending on your initial contact with the agency, your demo and letter may be sent by postal mail or email.
When sending through the post office, each letter should be an original, and should be addressed to the person whose name you were given during your research. The envelope address should be printed by a computer, not by hand. This gives your envelope a professional appearance. Include any relevant performing experience in your letter. Any reputable agent will require a demo from any talent they are considering, although a résumé is not generally used or necessary when marketing for voiceover work.
Here’s an example of a good cover letter that is short, to the point, gives a professional appearance, provides some important information, and suggests the performer’s potential value to the agency. Notice that this example requests action from the agency to arrange an interview.
Dear Mr. Agent:
Thank you for your interest in my demo. As I mentioned on the phone, I am a voice actor seeking representation. I have been booking myself as a freelance performer for the past few years and have had several successful commercials on the air.
Additional information about me and my background is included on my website at
www.jamesalburger.com
. For your convenience, I’ve enclosed a copy of my current demo.
I believe I can be a valuable asset to your agency, and I look forward to hearing from you so that we can arrange for a meeting to further discuss representation by your agency.
Sincerely,
Once you’ve been asked to send your introductory letter and demo,
do not
call to see if your demo was received. It will often do you no good, and may even irritate some agencies. And don’t expect to get your demo back! Talent agents know you send out demos to other agents in the area. If they hear something they like, they will call you. If you are good, and they’re
interested, they will call quickly, simply because they won’t want to miss out on representing an excellent performer.
Don’t be surprised if you don’t get a call. There may be many reasons for an agent not accepting you or not getting back to you quickly. Don’t expect or ask for a critique of your demo. If an agent is kind enough to critique it for you, use that information to learn how to improve your skills and create a better demo. You may need to produce two, three, or more demos before landing that first agent.
Sooner or later you will find a talent agent who is interested in talking to you. But be aware, the agent’s interest does not mean you have representation. It only means that he or she is interested in learning more about you and your talent, and to determine if you will be a good fit with their talent agency. When you are selected for representation, expect your agent to request changes in your demo. Your agent knows their clients and the best way to market you to them.
It may take some time, but when you do get a positive response, you may be asked to set up an appointment to meet with the agent. This can be quite exciting. What will you wear? How should you act? What will you say? If you are handling your correspondence via email, you may be asked to call the agent, or the entire process may be done over the Internet.
Remember that although it may appear as though the agent is interviewing you, the reality is that you are interviewing the agent. Handle this interview just as you would an interview for a new job. Dress nicely, and present yourself in a businesslike manner. Be careful to wear clothes that do not make noise. A good agent will probably ask you to read a script as part of the interview. Enter the office with confidence. Play the part of the successful performer. Create your character for the interview just as you would for a script, and act as if you are a seasoned pro and already represented. Your chances of signing with an agent will be much better if your first impression is one of a skilled and professional performer.
Interview all your prospective agents as thoroughly as possible. Listen carefully, and don’t be afraid to ask questions at any time. What types of work have they booked in the last month? What is the average scale they get for their performers? What is their commission? Is their commission added to the performer’s fee, or taken out? How many voiceover performers do they represent? How long have they been in business? You can even ask whom they represent and for a list of some performers you can contact.
During your meetings or phone calls with agents, you may talk about everything except your voiceover work. They will want you to be comfortable so that they can get a sense of you as a person, and you will want to get to know them a bit. You need to decide if you like them and have confidence that the agency will be able to get you work. They need to determine if you can work with them as a team.
Take your time. Don’t rush to sign up with the first agent who offers to represent you. Also, if any agent gives you the impression that you are working for him or her, you might want to consider eliminating that person from your list. The agent works for you—not the other way around. If an agent requires a fee of
any
amount before they will represent you, they may be operating illegally and you should end the conversation and leave. By law a talent agent is only entitled to a commission based on the work they obtain for you. When an agent directly charges you a fee to be posted on their website, or for headshots, or for anything else, they may be
double-dipping,
and that’s illegal, or at the very least potentially unethical.
When you sign with a talent agency, it will normally be a contract for one year. Some agencies request a multiyear agreement, but this can cause problems if your agent doesn’t promote you, and you don’t get work. If you don’t have a good working relationship with your agent, they can literally put your career on hold by simply not sending you auditions. If you are uncertain about the relationship, you may ask for a six-month trial, but if you show a lack of confidence with the agent, it might be best to simply seek representation elsewhere. Even with a good relationship, it is generally a good idea to renegotiate with your talent agent every year.
A large agency may have many people in the office and represent a large talent pool. A small agency may have only one or two people handling the entire business. It is easy to become a small fish in a big pond if you sign with a large agency. On the other hand, most large talent agencies sign only voiceover performers with years of experience and a solid track record. Your first agent most likely will work for a smaller agency that can give you more attention and help guide your career.